According to the UNHCR annual asylum trends report, Canada has remained at the bottom of the world’s top-15 refugee receiving countries.

In 2014 866,000 new asylum claims were lodged worldwide, a 45 per cent increase from 2013 and the highest level since 1992.

Syrians were by far the largest group among those seeking asylum in 2014, with 150,000 claims, or one-fifth of the total. Iraqis came second, accounting for 68,700 applications, double the number in 2013. Both countries are at war with Islamic State group extremists.

Antonio Guterres UN High Commissioner for Refugees says, “In the 1990s, the Balkan wars created hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers. Many of them found refuge in industrialized countries. Today, the surge in armed conflicts around the world presents us with similar challenges. Our response has to be just as generous now as it was then — providing access to asylum, resettlement opportunities and other forms of protection for the people fleeing these terrible conflicts” said.

In 2014, Canada received 13,500 asylum claims, about one-third more than the year before. The increase of claims in Canada was attributed to the significant drop in 2013, after Ottawa overhauled the refugee determination system in a bid to deter fraud and discourage asylum seekers from coming here.

In recent years, Canada has continued to rank at the bottom of the world’s top 15 refugee receiving countries.